Praying
by Zahra Rodriguez
Summary: What was it like living an ordinary life? How mundane was it? What did they do? Sophia couldn't help but wonder every now and again. She never had the opportunity to live a mundane life; she was born into a rather violent one, where living to a nice, old age was rare, if not impossible. Besides, Sophia knew better than to actually leave. Her life was crazy, but it was still hers.
1. Prologue

_I hope you're somewhere prayin', prayin',_

 _I hope your soul is changin', changin',_

 _I hope you find your peace,_

 _Falling on your knees, prayin'..._

-Praying; **by Kesha**

* * *

Have you ever stopped to think about how small you are? How insignificant your life truly is? No matter how badly you strive to do better, to _be_ better, that it won't matter in the long run. Everyone seemed to be in a mad scramble to find significance, to find happiness and belonging, in a world that didn't care about them at all. A world that's filled with viciousness and hatred, pain and bloodshed. Throughout history, people tried maintaining a halo of importance around themselves, a glow of entitlement. A pedestal of being the only intelligent beings on the planet, the only creatures capable of thinking and behaving the way they do. Until, somewhere down the line, more and more humans started realizing they weren't the only intelligent life on the planet. There were other beings, capable of great power, that could easily wipe humanity out.

 _That_ showed how insignificant and small humans really were. These _supernatural_ beings, who could control so many things humans could not. They posed a threat. So, among those who knew of their existence, humans formed a hunting community to eliminate the threat of this new world. Stories would eventually come into light about some of these creatures — werewolves and vampires; poltergeists and evil spirits; demons and angels; witches and other spell casters; God and Lucifer; Heaven and Hell. These stories would evolve over time, becoming movies and TV shows, comic books and countless web-series on the internet, even video games and board games. The hunting community eventually grew and grew, drawing in countless people, while a majority of society deemed all of these supernatural beings as nothing more than myths and legends.

But for Sophia, these supernatural beings weren't just myths or legends, they were reality. She had been born into the hunting community, forced to undergo unforgiving training in order to take down nonhuman threats. But if Sophia were to be completely honest with herself, she found her role as a hunter ironic, considering her half-human status.

 _ **~8~**_

Sophia Wilkinson was born to renown human hunter, Bodhi Wilkinson. He came from a long line of hunters, who specialized in taking down evil spirits, demons, and vamps. Occasionally the Wilkinson family would handle cases outside of their usual territory, but not very often. Evil spirits, demons, and vamps were the norm.

As for Sophia's mother, she had been fairly young in appearance, at least from what she's been told. Her mother supposedly had long raven-black hair, deep blue eyes, and a smile that seemed brighter than the sun. That was how Bodhi described it. Sophia never met her mother, so she couldn't confirm whether or not her father's statements were true.

Lainie O'Hara was Sophia's mother. She had come from Ireland in hopes of starting a new beginning.

"She wanted the opportunity to live the 'American Dream'," Bodhi would say. "Your mother thought America would be the answer she was looking for."

When Bodhi described seeing Lainie for the first time, Sophia, for the longest time, thought of it as love at first sight. Bodhi would speak so fondly of Lainie that Sophia couldn't help _but_ think that. Unfortunately, though, in the beginning of Lainie's and Bodhi's relationship, Bodhi failed to noticed a very important part of Lainie. That she wasn't actually human at all. Lainie O'Hara was a vampire; and she did a magnificent job hiding it for a majority of her relationship with Bodhi. She didn't want to scare him off, or have him think she was crazy. But what Lainie failed to recognize in Bodhi was that he was a hunter, someone who killed beings like her. It wasn't until at least six months after they started dating that Lainie fell pregnant, and everything they built started crumbling. Lainie's desperate attempts to be as human as possible started falling apart when her bloodlust started becoming too much to handle. Bodhi started hearing about bodies appearing, completely drained of blood. It had been a while since he'd done a case so he decided to look into it.

The last person he expected to see was Lainie, feeding on a young boy. She then admitted to being a vampire, but kept it hidden in fear that she'd scare him off. When he attempted to kill her, Lainie also admitted to being pregnant with his kid. That changed everything. No one in Bodhi's family knew of his relationship with the Irishwoman, though he did want to introduce her to them in the future. After finding out that she was a vampire _and_ pregnant, he knew that couldn't happen. Instead, Bodhi decided he'd keep her alive long enough for her to have the baby, then he'd kill her. And Bodhi kept that promise. Once the baby was born, Bodhi killed Lainie, even though every part of him was screaming at him not to.

After burning her body, Bodhi took it upon himself to raise his daughter by himself. He named her Sophia, after Lainie's deceased sister. As it would turn out, Lainie had been a vampire for quite a few centuries, having been bitten by an accomplice of the Alpha Vampire when she was barely twenty.

Sophia would grow up into the hunter world, learning about countless supernatural species and the countless ways to kill them. Bodhi made sure Sophia grew up as humanly as possible, despite a few setbacks Sophia had. Because of her status as half-vampire, that meant she inherited a few characteristics common among vamps, but Sophia always said those characteristics were "watered down" thanks to her human half. Sophia was stronger than the average human, but not immensely so; she was more agile, though not overly so, and seemed to possess a tad more speed than an average human would possess. Sophia's senses were heightened enough for her to be able to at least hear and smell others from a certain distance. The one characteristic Sophia hated the most was her need for blood. She didn't need it as frequently as a full-blooded vampire did, but she did need it often to at least _function_. The one thing Sophia was grateful for was that, unlike every vampire on the planet, she was able to walk out into sunlight without being harmed. Bodhi had explained that vampires couldn't walk out into sunlight without it causing them a great deal of pain; not killing them directly like pop culture claimed.

Bodhi did his best to take care of Sophia, to help her control herself and at least act as humanly as she possibly can. He wanted Sophia to be able to handle her own in the violent world they lived in, but there was also a sense of regret Bodhi had for raising his daughter in that world. She was half-vampire, and because she did need blood to at least function at a normal level, that meant she was always at risk. Should they have to work with other hunters and Sophia's feedings set in, they'd both be screwed. Bodhi made it very clear that, once Sophia decided she wanted to hunt on her own, she'd have to be a solo hunter. Working with others was too dangerous.

One thing that seemed to hurt the most was that none of Bodhi's living family knew of Sophia's existence. He did his best to keep her hidden away from them, knowing that the _second_ they found out she was half-vampire, she'd be dead.

For Sophia, she understood her father's precautions. She understood that he wanted her to be as safe as possible, despite the environment she grew up in. She was grateful to have an understanding father. Sophia knew that the world she was born into would be the only one for her; the mundane human life just wouldn't suit her. With her need for blood and everything else about her that didn't fit the human mold would make her stick out like a sore thumb. Hunting was her life, and she knew better than to just up and leave; hunters don't just decide to stop and live normally. They usually died before it happened. Or if one did manage to get out, they were never truly out. Something always came up to drag them back in.

That's, unfortunately, how the hunting life worked.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **Sorry for the wait on this chapter. Hopefully you guys enjoy it! Let me know what you think OK? Constructive criticism is important.**

 **I own nothing in the SPN fandom.**

 **Let me know where you think improvements need to be made.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Zahra**


	2. Chapter 1

_Here we go, here we go,_

 _It's about time that we set it off,_

 _Here we go, here we go,_

 _Red lights, I could never stop..._

-The Score; **by Legend**

* * *

The need for blood. Sophia _hated_ it. With every fiber of her being. What she wouldn't _give_ for it to go away. What she wouldn't _give_ to be human. Was that asking for too much? Sophia usually didn't think like that if she could help it; it always made her feel bad in the end. She'd remind herself of the lengths her father went to ensure her safety, to ensure she was comfortable and ready to live in the world they occupied. Hunting wasn't pretty or glamorous or even _admired_. Hunting was violent and emotional and damaging. How many times had Sophia helped her father repair his wounds, or tell him everything would be OK when he had a little too much to drink? Bodhi Wilkinson may have tried his damned hardest for his daughter, but he wasn't a saint.

Sophia witnessed him go into drunken rages more than once, angry over hunts or fallen comrades or the life he could've had. He'd cry, he'd wail, he'd scream. Sophia had to be there to make sure he didn't hurt himself or to make sure the cops hadn't been called. When Bodhi went into those rages, he held nothing back. No doubt had neighbors in the motels been scared shitless.

How had Bodhi been lucky enough to keep his daughter for so long? Any reasonable person would've called the authorities, right?

When Sophia had been old enough to accompany her father on hunts, to help with the spirits and the vamps and maybe a demon or two, she came to realize why her father drank so much. It helped ease the pain — the physical and emotional pain. After the first couple hunts, Sophia would have nightmares that a poltergeist was torturing her, or a demon had possessed her and she had no control over her body. She'd have nightmares that an evil spirit had killed her father, that a vamp had destroyed the lives she and her father had built. Sophia already had an immense amount of self-loathing over the fact that she was half-vampire, and the thought that maybe a pack of vamps could storm in and kill her and her father was haunting. Was that why her mother wasn't around? To keep them safe from potential threats? Bodhi never explained why she disappeared or where she went. Lainie O'Hara's disappearance was the biggest mystery in Sophia's life.

But despite all the things that Sophia Wilkinson had been exposed to — all the monsters, bloodshed, wounds, nightmares, and drunken rages — Sophia found her feedings to be the worst. Why, of all the vampiric characteristics, did bloodlust have to be added? No normal person would _ever_ consider a need for blood normal. If they had a disorder, sure; but because of you being half-vampire?

Sophia scowled slightly. She looked at the IV needle that was in the crook of her arm; the thin plastic tube that went all the went all the way up to a plastic blood bag hanging on the wall with a lot of duct tape. That was how Sophia did her feedings. She'd steal a couple bags of blood from nearby blood banks so she wouldn't have to go hunting humans or animals. She'd come close more than once, almost killing a few humans in order to get her feeding, and it was a _bitch_ to control. For Sophia, the idea of feeding off humans sounded disgusting — she saw it as almost cannibalism in a way. Not to mention she wondered if human blood was at all fatty, which made it even more repulsive to her. Not to mention that animal blood sounded very unhealthy. Who knew for sure what would be in animal blood?

Even though she decided the blood bank would be her safest method, she had to admit it was better than nothing. At first, using an IV to get her feedings under control was overwhelming. She'd never used an IV needle before so she'd messed up the first few times, but after a while she got the hang of it. Human blood — while she wasn't directly tasting it — did make her sick in the beginning. When her _cravings_ first started setting in, her father had used his own blood to satisfy her. He'd cut the palm of his hands and drain the blood into some vials for Sophia to drink until her cravings stopped. She had been right about one thing, there was a certain amount of fattiness in human blood.

She chalked it up as her father always going to fast food joints whenever he didn't feel like cooking anything.

But after a couple years of Bodhi using his own blood, he came up with a way for Sophia to get her fix without it causing him so much pain. He suggested cattle, since a lot of where they hunted seemed to be near farmland or somewhere close. The idea was quickly rejected and the blood banks were their final hope. It turned out well, in the end. But that didn't mean she liked it.

So, as she watched the blood go down the little tube and through the needle in her arm, Sophia found her cravings and _lust_ for blood slowly go away. The more accustomed she became to her feedings, the more she aware she became to when her feedings were close. There'd always be a stomach cramp with a hint of dizziness. The symptoms became progressively worse, with agitation and restlessness adding on as time went by. Sophia tried to avoid that situation as much as possible. It wasn't fun. At all.

She was soon snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of her cellphone. Looking at her bedside table, she saw her flip phone vibrating almost violently, the little screen on front glowing. Sighing, she reached over and answered the call. "Hello?" she said, keeping her tone neutral.

"Soph?" Her father. Furrowing her brows, Sophia set her jaw. Rarely did her father ever call her, and when he did it was only in times of emergencies. As the years went on and Sophia became more independent, Bodhi came to understand that his daughter would more than likely want to do solo hunts. Because of her background, solo hunts were the best option for Sophia. Sophia had only started solo hunting a few months prior, just a couple weeks after her twenty-first birthday.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "It's been a while since I've heard from you."

"Y-Yeah..." _He's lying,_ she thought. _He stammered._ "...I was just hoping to see how you've been with that case. You nab that spirit?"

"Of course," she said. "You know I can." Sophia furrowed her brows. "Are you going to tell me what's really going on?"

"I just got off a case a couple hours ago," he said, a certain undertone weaving its way into Bodhi's voice. "A werewolf case. Bastard beat the holy hell out of me. It got me thinking...I was worried. What if something happened to you?"

A weight fell into the pit of Sophia's stomach. The ol' werewolf phrase. Bodhi had told Sophia growing up that he had certain phrases — some he learned from his parents — that were only common among the Wilkinson family. Whenever those phrases were uttered, it usually meant someone was in trouble. The ol' werewolf phrase was one of them. _Bastard beat the holy hell out of me_ — there's someone here. _What if something happened to you?_ — get out. To any other hunter, it wouldn't seem like much, but to Sophia's family, it was something else entirely.

"Are you OK?" she asked, hoping her tone didn't convey the worry she felt. "Do you need me to come down?" She'd play along, hoping to come across as the frightened daughter.

"I'll be fine, sweetheart..." _Things are not looking good._ "...I should be fine in a little bit. What about you? Are you OK?" _Someone's coming. Get out now._

Swallowing thickly Sophia chewed on her bottom lip. "I'm fine, dad," she said softly. "I just got a few bruises and scratches. It'll heal up just fine."

"Good." There was a long pause. "I'll see you around, hon. Be safe, OK?"

"I will. You, too."

 ** _~8~_**

Leaning back in his seat in his car, Bodhi Wilkinson let out a shaky breath. He'd been beaten shitless, that wasn't a lie, but it wasn't because of any werewolves. Bodhi had made a few mistakes in his past, and he knew that one day he'd have to pay for them. He also knew the ones who were coming after him would know about Sophia, and they'd come for her. The _last_ thing Bodhi wanted was for his daughter to get involved.

"Ya know, this could've gone a _whole_ lot easier if you'd just listened to us." A woman's voice, one Bodhi knew all too well.

"Go to hell."

"You're not the first human to tell me that," was her whispered response. "We'll find her, Bodhi. Your debt will be paid off in no time."

Closing his eyes, Bodhi knew all too well what was going to happen next.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **What'd you think? Not my best, but maybe it's interesting? I don't know. I got behind on homework so I was trying to finish that up while writing this, so that's probably why it's not my best writing. Oh well. If you've got some constructive criticism, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? That stuff's important.**

 **SPN isn't mine!**

 **How many of you are excited for season 13!? I'm a newbie to the series, so I am pretty excited for the 13th season. One of these days, though, I'll catch up.**

 **Also, for the canon characters, don't hesitate to let me know if I get them wrong, OK? I haven't added them in yet, obviously, but as a heads up for you guys. Help a writer out!**

 **Thanks.**

 **Zahra**


	3. Chapter 2

_I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy. Because they know what it's like to feel absolutely worthless and they don't want anybody else to feel like that._

-Robin Williams

* * *

Everything felt like a blur. Sophia barely remembered taking the IV out of her arm; she barely remembered bandaging herself up, sealing the blood bag, and putting it away. Everything felt like it was mashing together and Sophia wasn't entirely sure what to think or feel. What had happened to her father? What would happen if she called him?

Swallowing thickly, Sophia tried to get her things together and move as quickly as possible. If there was someone after her father and her, then she couldn't stay. As she zipped up the last of her luggage, Sophia looked around the motel room one last time. She saw her flip phone, still sitting haphazardly on the bed, and she snatched it up, putting it on the ground and smashing it. Sophia couldn't afford someone tracking her with it. Grabbing her bags — three in total — Sophia put the remains of the flip phone into the garbage before hurrying out. Going to the front desk, she tried to not look so disheveled.

"Good evening," the woman at the front desk exclaimed, her voice somewhat nasally. "Can I...?"

"I think I'm going to check out a little early," Sophia stammered. "I'm Sacha Friedman."

A startled look came across the woman's face as she typed something into her computer. "OK, Ms. Friedman, everything's taken care of," she said, "if you could just return your room key..."

Before she could even finish, Sophia slammed the room key on the counter, throwing an apologetic look the woman's way before hurrying out. Making her way to her rusted pickup truck, Sophia threw her luggage into the passenger side before climbing in and starting the engine.

 _ **~8~**_

What had been so bad that Bodhi Wilkinson had to call and tell Sophia to leave? She'd _never_ experienced fear like that before, not even on her most gruesome hunts. But having to deal with her _father_ telling her to run, to get as far away as possible, Sophia just couldn't comprehend that.

Tightening her grip on the steering wheel, a heavy sense of dread fell on Sophia. What would happen to her father? Would he be able to get out? Just how serious was it? There were so many questions that she felt needed answers, but she knew she couldn't get them.

 _Bodhi's a good hunter,_ she thought, _there's no way he'd let anything take him down. Remember that!_

She had to keep reminding herself that. Her father was a skilled hunter, his entire family came from a hunting background, they knew what they were doing. They had the training, the skills, to handle whatever situation they were in.

 _He didn't give you any hints on meeting up somewhere. What if he really is in a really bad situation? Do you even know where he is?_ The thought itself was haunting. When Sophia decided to do some solo hunting, she didn't really get a good idea on where her father would be going. Bodhi tended to keep his locations under lock and key, not even telling his most trusted friends and family where he'd be heading. It wasn't that he didn't trust them, he just wanted to keep them safe.

But _God_ did Sophia wish her father gave her something to go on. She couldn't stand not knowing where he was, if he managed to get out of the problem. It made her stomach churn in an almost nauseating fashion.

Before her mind could keep spinning over her father, the sound of her engine sputtering caught her attention. Letting out a string of curses, Sophia pulled over to the side of the road. Her truck had always caused trouble, but never in the engine. That was the _only_ part that seemed to go smoothly. And it was sputtering. In a long dirt road, in the middle of the night.

 _Can this night get any worse?_

 _ **~8~**_

What's an appropriate emotion for what he just went through? Should he be angry? Sad? Furious? Was feeling numb an appropriate feeling? Because that was what Sam felt in Dean's Impala. After what happened back at his apartment, with Jess, Sam wasn't entirely sure what to feel. He just saw his girlfriend pinned to the ceiling and then burst into flames. Who the hell can properly say they're feeling a single emotion? The image of Jess, pinned to that ceiling with blood coming from her body, was seared into Sam's mind. Would it ever leave? Every time he closed his eyes, he saw her face, he saw the flames consume her. Every thought that flitted through his mind was of her, of whoever or _whatever_ was responsible.

Sam knew who it was, the one responsible for Jess' death. The thing that killed his mother, it returned after _decades_ of not even a single sighting. Even after Sam left the hunting life, he still had a little hope that the bastard that killed his mother would be taken down; but because he failed to maintain contact with Dean meant he wouldn't know when or if it would ever happen. Sam's lips pursed as he looked out the passenger side window. Stanford was supposed to be a better start for him, the _apple pie life_ , as Dean would call it. Being accepted into Stanford had been one of the happiest days of Sam's life, next managing to get into a relationship with someone like Jess. She had been so nice, so accepting of him _(despite all the secrets he kept from her)_. Hell, Sam Winchester wanted to _propose_ to her, it was _that_ serious.

 _That's never gonna happen now,_ a cynical part of him whispered, _thanks to Dean coming back. Maybe if you'd stayed with Jess, instead of going on that trip with Dean, she'd still be alive. You would've killed the bastard before it even got to her._

Feeling his heart clench, Sam tried his hardest to push the thought out of his mind, though he did believe it. If he'd refused Dean's offer to go looking for their father, then Jess would be alive, he'd still be at Stanford, and there wouldn't be so much drama. The whole plan was for Sam to _stay away_ from hunting, not go _back_ to it. A big part of Sam blamed himself for Jess' death, any remaining parts blamed Dean and their father. If Dean hadn't come by asking for help, then everything would still be normal. If their father hadn't disappeared — thought it's not like he hasn't done that before; he did it _plenty_ of times when he and Dean were kids — then Jess would still be alive and Sam would still be at Stanford.

Sam Winchester's entire life was _ruined_ , the normality he covered himself in had crumbled faster than he cared to admit.

"Man, you OK?" Dean asked, his voice piercing through Sam's silent seething.

"I'm fine." The response was sharp, an overwhelming feeling of _something_ filling up Sam's body.

Dean knew better. He wasn't fine at all.

"Wait, dude, do you see that?" Dean exclaimed.

 ** _~8~_**

A pair of headlights came into view, shining on Sophia. A feeling of absolute _dread_ filled her body. Was that the person — or people — Sophia's father was warning about? Had they been following her from a distance?

 _Goddammit,_ she thought.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **Not my best chapter, but it's the best I could come up with while trying to get homework done. If you've got any constructive criticism for this, don't hesitate to let me know, OK?**

 **Nothing in the SPN fandom belongs to me.**

 **If you've got subplots or OCs that you'd like added into the story, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? Leave a review or PM me with your ideas.**

 **Also, let me know whenever I get Sam, Dean, or any of the canon characters wrong. I'd feel a bit irritated if I found out, way later on, if I found out I got the characters wrong. Like, I'd be _REALLY_ irritated. Just let me know, I'd appreciate it.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Zahra**


	4. Chapter 3

_Should I stay or should I go now?_

 _Should I stay or should I go now?_

 _If I go, there will be trouble,_

 _And if I stay it will be double,_

 _So come on and let me know..._

-Should I Stay or Should I Go; **by The Clash**

* * *

Sophia had gotten out of her car to check the engine. It was already late, and she wanted to figure out what was stalling her car before morning. She didn't want to stay on the road any longer than necessary, but seeing as she'd already been spotted by someone — maybe even a group of someones — it seemed a little too late. The _second_ Sophia saw the headlights, her heart jumped into her throat and her stomach knotted up painfully. What was she supposed to do? She had a handgun in her car, but if whoever was in the other car wasn't a threat, they'd certainly call the cops on her for pulling out a weapon. Peeking around the hood of her car, Sophia chewed on her bottom lip. The other car had pulled in behind hers, the headlight shining for a moment before the car's engine shut off.

 _You better figure something out fast,_ she thought. _Whoever's in that car is either gonna kill you or help you._

Setting her jaw, Sophia continued to look at the car, feeling her body tense up and her heart starting to beat uncomfortably in her chest. Sophia wanted to be frightened, and part of her was, but another part of her was waiting for something to happen. One wrong move, something that sounded a bit off, anything. That was all Sophia needed in order to handle the situation. She wasn't going to jump right into attack mode, not if she could help it.

When the other car's driver side opened, Sophia prepared herself for the worse possible scenario.

"You need help?" A man. It was a man, and given the silhouette Sophia had of him _(she could barely make out the outlines of his face)_ , she could tell he was taller than her, maybe even in good physical shape. His voice was young and had a hint of arrogance and possibly even some kind of ulterior motive if listened carefully enough.

When Sophia heard the passenger side door open, her heart dropped in her stomach. There were two of them. The silhouette of the other guy had her blood run cold. She could make out how the other guy was taller than his companion and seemed to have broader shoulders, probably indicating being in more shape than his friend.

"You guys having any trouble?" she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral.

"We could be asking you that question." That arrogant tone was seeping into the driver's words, making Sophia's eyes narrow slightly.

"Are you OK?" The passenger's voice was a bit deeper, but held a bit of compassion mixed with some other emotion Sophia couldn't quite make out. "We were just trying to check in on you."

"Some car troubles," Sophia said. "I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out."

Without saying much else, the shorter companion walked over to the front of Sophia's car, looking at her engine carefully. She took a hesitant step back, watching him study her car. Sophia felt her shoulders tense up, her eyes darting between the man studying her car and the man who was still standing a little bit away. From what she could tell up close, though, was that the shorter man was sporting some kind of leather jacket, worn jeans, and short hair. Sophia didn't get a really good look at his face, but she wasn't sure she wanted to.

"I don't think you'll be able to figure this out, sweetheart," he exclaimed, turning to look at her. He was about as young as Sophia expected him to be; with a pretty face _(considering his arrogance, Sophia had to assume he knew how attractive he seemed to come off as)_ and probably blue or green eyes, she couldn't tell. "Looks like your battery's dead."

Pursing her lips, Sophia ran a hand through her dark hair. "I'll figure something out," she said firmly.

"Why don't you come with us?" the companion announced. "We'll drop you off at a repair shop."

"Name a single shop for miles that's open at this time of night?" Sophia said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides, I'm in a bit of a rush. I think this piece of junk's done all it could."

The two men shared a look, one that lasted the longest minute of Sophia's life. They seemed to be having some kind of silent conversation, and the longer Sophia stood there, waiting for one of them to say something, the more anxious she became.

Letting out a sigh, the man closest to Sophia turned to look at her. "I'll drop you off at the nearest bus terminal," he said, his tone becoming gruff. "You have cash on you?" When Sophia nodded, he gave a curt nod. "Get in."

 ** _~8~_**

It took a bit for Sophia to get all her luggage into the back of the car. She made sure to keep the bag containing her blood bags close to her, so nothing happened during the trek to the nearest terminal. Inside the car, Sophia managed to get a better look at the two men. The taller one had shaggy brown hair and an extremely boyish look, but there was something about him that made Sophia feel sad. He tried putting on a whole façade of being helpful and sympathetic, but there was a look hidden just beneath the surface that Sophia couldn't quite decipher. His companion did have shorter hair, dirty blonde in color. Unlike the driver, who wore a leather jacket, the man in the passenger wore a couple layers of flannel underneath a big winter jacket.

"Are you sure you don't want to at least have it towed?" The shaggy-haired man turned and looked at Sophia, his eyes big and his expression uncertain.

"I'm sure." Sophia tried for a smile. "I'm in a rush so I can't wait around for long."

"What's the rush?" Sophia's eyes went to the driver, who occasionally looked at her through the rearview mirror.

"My dad's in the hospital," she replied, the lie floating easily off her tongue. "He's got cancer, called me not long ago to tell me. Old bastard waited a year and a half to tell me he's sick."

"I'm sorry." The man in the passenger seat threw a sympathetic look her way.

She shrugged it off. "He's getting treatment," Sophia sighed. "That's all that matters, right?"

"What kind of cancer's he got?" the driver asked.

" _Dean_." The hushed name rolled off his friend's lips in a harshness Sophia expected. Pulling off the sick family member card usually tended to get people curious — she knew which reactions to pull and what exactly to say.

"Prostate cancer," she said. "Runs in his family."

"I'm sorry for my brother," the companion said, turning in the passenger seat. His expression was guilty and a bit frustrated.

"It's fine," Sophia said, giving a wet chuckle. She knew how to get the tears working, to make it look more convincing. "He'll get better, I know it."

There was a moment of silence, the two brothers looking at each other for a moment.

 _ **~8~**_

Sam had to admit, there was something about the girl that seemed a little off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it — and he knew Dean felt it, too — but he wasn't sure he really wanted to look into it. Whatever her secrets were, if she had any, were hers to keep. He wondered if it had to do with her father being ill, but he had to really think about it for a moment. Shaking his head, he shoved the thoughts out of his head. In all honesty, he just didn't care. Sam's main priority was finding the bastard that killed Jess and his mother.

"I don't think we got your name," he said, looking back at her.

Her eyes went to Sam for a moment before she nodded. "I'm Sophia," she said, chewing on her bottom lip.

"Well, _Sophia_ , I hope your father gets better," Sam replied.

"Thanks." There was a long moment of silence. "What're your names?" Sophia hoped she could at least keep the helpless pedestrian façade up for a little while longer. Once she was at the bust terminal, hopefully she'd never run into these men again.

"W-Well...," Sam looked at Dean for a moment before continuing. "I'm Sam and this is my brother, Dean."

Nodding, Sam watched as a tight-lipped smile came across Sophia's face. "Lovely names," she replied, her tone quiet.

 ** _~8~_**

The names Sam and Dean sounded vaguely familiar in Sophia's mind. Occasionally, when she was younger, Bodhi had mentioned a man named John Winchester who had two young boys, but as the years went on, Sophia completely forgot those boys' names. She didn't really care enough to remember. Then again, the name _Winchester_ was _very_ well-known. Everyone in the hunting community knew of the Winchesters, the infamous family who didn't keep a single monster alive during their hunts.

Bodhi had mentioned multiple times how he'd worked on a case or two with John, how the man was brutal and merciless. No monster was safe when a Winchester was involved. Then again, no hunters were safe from them, either. On more than one occasion, stories had gone around about how any hunter who had the misfortune of running into the small family, the accompanying hunter would more than likely end up dead. While death wasn't uncommon in the hunting community — making it to your thirties was a miracle in itself, reaching old age was nearly pushing it — having a group of hunters notorious for inadvertently killing others was just spelling out trouble.

Looking at Sam and Dean for a moment, the boys would every once in a while look at each other, maybe whisper something too low for Sophia to make out, or maybe throw a look her way. Had they figured a way through her lies? Sophia liked to believe she was a pretty convincing liar; growing up a hunter meant becoming a professional liar. Then again, she wasn't entirely sure with the brothers. Sam seemed like the more genuine one compared to Dean. Pursing her lips, Sophia sunk further into her seat, hoping the drive to the terminal would hurry and she could just disappear.

* * *

 **(A/N):**

 **Sorry for the wait and poorly written chapter. School and work have been _killing_ me. Everyone at my job decided they wanted to have the same weekend off so I had to work extra shifts to cover for everyone, and my summer classes are starting to come to a close, so I am trying to finish up all my assignments while getting ready for finals. It's been really crazy.**

 **SPN is not mine. I own my OCs and the plots I put in.**

 **If you've got ideas for subplots or OCs you'd like added to the story, don't hesitate to let me know, OK? Leave a review or PM me on any thoughts you have.**

 **Also, since this chapter isn't my best, I'd like to know what you guys thought of it. I'm always down for constructive criticism, so if you've got any suggestions on how I can improve this and any future updates, let me know. I love when reviewers let me know how to improve my stories.**

 **Thanks.**

 **Zahra**


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